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The PERRY'S VICTORY 
and INTERNATIONAL 
PEACE MEMORIAL 



A Brief Statement of Facts 
Relative to the Work of the 
National and State Com- 
missioners and the Con- 
struction of the Proposed 
Temple of Peace, in con- 
nection with the Memorial, 
as an Institution for the 
Promotion of the Peace 
of the World. 




PUBUSHED BY 

THE INTEKSTATE BOARD OF THE PERRY'S VICTORY 

CENTENNIAL COMMISSIONERS 

Cleveland, Ohio, November, 1914 



1 



The Union of States 

In the Construction of the Perry's Victory and 
International Peace Memorial 



The movement for the co-operation of the several 
states of the Union with the National Government 
in the construction of the Perry's Victory and Inter- 
national Peace Memorial at Piit-in-Bay, South Bass 
Island, Lake Erie, Ohio, had its origin in legislation 
by the General Assembly of Ohio in February, 1908, 
authorizing the governor of the state to appoint 
commissioners charged w^ith the responsibility of 
preparing and carrying out plans for a fitting celebra- 
tion of the one hundredth anniversary of the Battle 
of Lake Erie in the war of 1812 and the century of 
peace which ensued as the result of the provisions of 
the British-American treaty, at the close of the war, 
requiring permanent disarmament of the Great Lakes 
and thus affording the most notable example of the 
preservation of international peace by treaty agree- 
ment in the history of the world. The Ohio com- 
missioners were directed to invite the participation of 
the National Government, the states bordering on the 
Great Lakes, the State of Rhode Island and the State 
of Kentucky in the enterprise — Rhode Island as the 
birthplace of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, 
commander of the American fleet in the Battle of 
Lake Erie, and Kentucky because of the essential 
services rendered by that commonwealth to the 
American cause in "the second war for independ- 



ence." 



Subsequent legislation by Congress and the States 
of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Wiscon- 
sin, New York, Rhode Island, Kentucky and Minne- 
sota resulted in the organization of the Inter-State 
Board of the Perry's Victory Centennial Commis- 



sioners, composed of the commissioners appointed 
by the President of the United States and the gover- 
nors of the states interested. At a later period 
commissioners were also authorized by the State 
of Louisiana and appointed by the governor, and in 
1914 the State of IMassachusetts made an appropri- 
ation for the object in view. 

During the early history of the enterprise the 
Inter-State Board resolved to bend its greater ener- 
gies to the erection of a suitable memorial to the 
heroes of the War of 1812. at Put-in-Bay, South 
Bass Island, Ohio, overlooking the scene of the 
Battle of Lake Erie, but determined also that the 
memorial should not only pay just tribute to the 
century of peace between the United States and 
Great Britain which resulted from the treaty agree- 
ment at the conclusion of the war, but that it should 
become a permanent international factor, as an 
institution rather than a memorial, for the peace of 
the world. This subject was considered by the 
Inter-State Board as entirely apart from the cen- 
tennial celebration which the commissioners were 
authorized to conduct, and their first care was to 
provide for the erection of the Perry's Victory and 
International Peace Memorial, under the auspices 
of the National Government and the states of the 
Union, as a project distinct from the centennial 
celebration and to which they pledged their greater 
resources and efforts. 

Accordingly, in the architectural competition for 
the selection of an architect of the Memorial, which 
was conducted at Washington under the auspices 
of the National Fine Arts Commission in January, 
1912, and proved to be the largest and most repre- 
sentative competition of like character ever held in 
this country, the program of competition suggested 
the theme of international peace, as well as Amer- 
ican victory, as the subject to be memorialized; and 
from this requirement was evolved the idea of the : 
Temple of Peace, in conjunction with the Perry's ; 
Victory Memorial, as an institution for the promo- j 
tion of the peace of the world. The successful jj 
architects, whose design was recomm,ended for the 
first prize by the National Fine Arts Commission, 
were Messrs. J. H. Freedlander and A. D. Sey- 
mour. Jr., of New York. 

To insure, first, a fitting memorial in commemo- 
ration of the Battle of Lake Erie and the Peace of 



1814. as contemplated by the legislation enacted by 
Congress and the participating states, the Inter-State 
Board in 1912 segregated and set apart a fund of 
$395,000 to discharge a contract of $357,588, with all 
extras, which had been entered into for the con- 
struction of the great Doric column of the Memorial, 
and upon the practical completion of the column in 
September, 1914, an additional sum of $122,000 was 
authorized to be devoted to the construction of the 
approaches to the column and the parking of the 
reservation of fourteen acres. The total cost of the 
Memorial when thus completed, w4th the exception 
of the Temple of Peace and Peace Colonnade, in- 
cluding the purchase of the site, expense of the 
architectural competition, fees of architects, engi- 
neers, etc., will be approximately $570,000. Of this 
sum $292,765.02 had been paid on the original con- 
tract up to October 26th, 1914, and the total cost 
here indicated is within the resources of the Inter- 
State Board from Federal and State appropriations. 
The resources of the Inter-State Board which were 
dedicated exclusively to the construction of the 
Memorial, were apportioned as follows by the com- 
missioners representing the National Government 
and the participating states : The National Govern- 
ment. $240,000: Ohio. $126,000: Pennsylvania, 
$50,000: Michigan, $25,000: Illinois, $25,000; Wiscon- 
sin. $25.000 ; New York, $30,000 ; Rhode Island, $25.- 
000: Kentuckv, $25,000; Massachusetts, $15,000. 
Total, $586,000. 

The magnitude of the work is suggested by the 
dimensions of the Doric Column, constructed of 
Mil ford granite, and surmounted by a gigantic 
bronze tripod bearing a light of high power as an 
aid to navigation, as follows : Height, 317 feet 3 
inches ; total height to top of tripod, 340 feet 1 inch ; 
diameter of base, 45 feet ; diameter of neck. 35 
feet 6 inches; abacus, 47 feet square; thickness of 
walls at base, 9 feet 9 inches ; thickness of walls at 
neck, 4 feet. Public elevators will run to the spec- 
tators' gallery at a height of 317 feet. The tripod 
is 22 feet 10 inches in height and 17 feet 4 inches in 
diameter. It is of statuary bronze in wrought and 
cast sections. The glass dome is an unbroken sur- 
face in twenty-four pieces with closed joints, a 
form of construction never before attempted in 
glass. The weight of the tripod is approximately 
ten tons. 



The memorial reservation, the title of which has 
been ceded by the State of Ohio to the United 
States Government and from the center of which 
the column rises, comprises the narrowest point of 
South Bass Island toward East Point, overlooking 
in either direction from the site of the column, 
within a distance of about 300 feet, the waters of 
both Lake Erie and Put-in-Bay harbor. The scene 
most appropriately includes Gibraltar Island, known 
as "Perry's Lookout", West Sister Island, off whose 
shores Commodore Perry dispatched his famous 
message, "We have met the enemy and they are i 
ours," the Canadian shore, and the expanse of 
waters and the international boundary line which 
for one hundred years have borne silent but con- 
vincing testimony to the efficacy of international 
peace by disarmament. 

The Temple of Peace 

At their annual meeting held September 10th, 1914, 
the commissioners of the Inter-State Board adopted 
resolutions inviting the co-operation of all the states 
of the Union and of patriotic organizations and indi- 
viduals in the construction of the Temple of Peace 
as an adjunct of the Perry's Victory and Interna- 
tional Peace Memorial, in accordance with the origi- 
nal design of the Memorial as approved by the 
National Fine Arts Commission, at a cost of ap- 
proximately $300,000. 

Legislation to this end will be pending in thirty- 
two states during the year 1915, and if extended to 
all of the states with the exception of the eight 
which have already made appropriations, it is obvi- 
ous that the participation of each in this great work 
will not be an onerous burden. 

The intentions of the commissioners in this regard 
have appealed very forcibly to the officials, legislators j 
and leading citizens of the states that have been j 
approached on the subject. As heretofore stated, it 
is proposed that the Temple of Peace shall be not 
merely a memorial but an institution for the pro- 
motion of the peace of the world; for the use of 
the representatives of contending nations vvho in 
future may seek terms of peace in negotiations 
authorized by their several governments, as in the 
case of the termination of the war between Russia 
and Japan at Portsmouth, N. H., and the recent 



meeting of the Mexican peace envoys at Niagara 
Falls. The building will also be dedicated to the 
use of peace societies in all parts of the United 
States. Being located on a national reservation, easy 
of access but remote from metropolitan life, its 
atmosphere and surroundings v^ill be -ideal for the 
objects to which it will be dedicated: and there is 
no doubt that historically, in view of the disarma- 
ment of the Great Lakes and their ports which has 
prevailed for more than a century, the location is 
the most appropriate that could be selected. 

The commissioners appeal to the executive and 
legislative authorities of all the states of the Union, 
to join with the National Government and the 
states already associated together in this unique and 
praiseworthy undertaking, for its successful conclu- 
sion, in the name of American patriotism and for 
the welfare of humanity, to do all that may be 
done in this generation to remove the curse of 
war. 



The Interstate Board 

of the Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners 

Engaged in the construction of the Perry's Victory and 

International Peace Memorial 



GENERAL OFFICERS 

President-General, George H. Worthington, Cleve- 
land, Ohio ; First Vice-President-General, Henry 
Watterson, Louisville, Ky. ; Secretary-General, Web- 
ster P. Huntington, Cleveland, Ohio; Treasurer- i 
General, A. E. Sisson, Erie, Pa. ; Auditor-General, 
Harry Cutler, Providence, R. I. ; MacKenzie R. 
Todd, Financial Secretary, Frankfort, Ky. 

LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE 

Auditor-General of the Inter-State Board Harry 
Cutler, Providence, R. L, Chairman; Secretary- 
General Webster P. Huntington, Cleveland, O., Sec- 
retary ; President-General George H. Worthington, 
First" Vice-President General Henry Watterson, 
Treasurer General A. E. Sisson, Financial Secretary 
MacKenzie R. Todd. 

COMMISSIONERS 

For the United States Government: Lieutenant- 
General Nelson A. Miles, U. S. A., Ret.; Rear- 
Admiral Charles H. Davis, U. S. N., Ret., Wash- 
ington, D. C. ; General J. Warren Keifer, Spring- 
field, Ohio. 

Ohio: John H. Clarke, George H. Worthington. i 
Cleveland; S. M. Johannsen, Put-in-Bay; Eli | 
Winkler, Nicholas Longworth, Cincinnati ; Hor- 
ace Holbrook, Warren ; William C. Mooney, [I 
Woodsfield ; Horace L. Chapman, Columbus ; .1 
George W. Dun, Toledo. (Webster P. Hunting- \ 
ton, Secretary, Cleveland, Ohio.") 

Pennsylvania : A. E. Sisson, Mihon W. Shreve, j 
Erie ; Edwin H. Vare, Philadelphia ; T. C. ' 
Jones, McKeesport; George W. Neff, M. D., 
Masontown. 

Michigan: George W. Parker, John C. Lodge, De- 
troit ; Arthur P. Loomis. Ionia ; Roy S. Barn- 
hart, Grand Rapids ; E. K. Warren, Three Oaks. 

8 



I 



Illinois : William H. Thompson, James Pugh, Rich- 
ard S. Folsom, Nelson W. Lampert, Adam 
Wechler. Chesley R. Perry. William Porter 
Adams, Willis J. Wells. Chicago ; General Philip 
C. Hayes, Joliet ; W. H. Mcintosh, Rockford ; 
H. S. Bekemeyer, Springfield. 

Wisconsin : Rear-Admiral Frederick M. Symonds, 
U. S. X.. Ret., Galesville; John M. Whitehead, 
Janesville ; A. W. Sanborn, Ashland ; C. B. 
Perry. Wauwatosa ; S. W. Randolph. Mani- 
towoc ; Louis Bohmrich. Milwaukee ; Sol. P. 
Huntington, Green Bay. (Joseph McC. Bell, 
Secretary, Milwaukee.) 

New York : William J. Conners. George D. Emer- 
son, William Simon. John F. ]\Ialone, Edward D, 
Jackson. Buffalo; Simon L. Adler, Rochester; 
Robert F. Wagner, New York City ; Clinton B. 
Herrick, M. D., Troy; William F. Rafferty, 
Syracuse ; William L. Ormrod, Churchville ; 
Jacob Schifferdecker, Brooklyn. 

Rhode Island : John P. Sanborn, Newport ; Louis 
M. Arnold, Westerly ; Sumner Mowry, Peace- 
dale : Henry E. Davis, Woonsocket ; Harry Cut- 
ler, Providence. 

Kentucky : Colonel Henry Watterson, Colonel An- 
drew Cowan. Louisville ; Samuel M. Wilson, 
Lexington ; Colonel R. W. Nelson, Newport ; 
MacKenzie R. Todd, Frankfort. 

Minnesota : J. Edward Me3^ers, Minneapolis ; W. H. 
Westcott. Rosemount : Ralph W. Wheelock. St. 
Paul: Milo B. Price. Owatonna; Clyde Kelly, 
I Duluth. 

I Louisiana : W. O. Hart. New Orleans ; A. A. Gun- 
b}^ Monroe. (One vacancy.) 



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